-The next morning the others awoke to find the corpse of a large Numrek beast mere feet from where they had been sleeping. Keck and Tarock didn't seem as surprised at Gullna was at the sight of the beast. The three elder warriors didn't so much as mention the dead beast as they got ready to head out.
-The rest of the trip went without incident. The brawl ran on all four like beasts to save time. By noon they had reached the base of a large hill when kick stopped. Tarock and Vartock huddled with him for last minute discussion. Gullna was on lookout for any Ramin scouts while they talked.
-After a few moments kick and the others stood up and Tarock nodded to Gullna. The four of them composed themselves and walked over the hill. When they reached the top Gullna stopped in his tracks. He stared with his mouth open at the sight of Solem.
-The city of Solem sat in the middle of a massive lake with four long bridges connecting it to land. The parameter of the city was circular with towering building reaching into the sky. The buildings glistened so brightly in the sun that it was hard to look directly at them. On the shore Ramin soldiers guarded the bridges. They were covered head to toe in shiny metal armor and held a shield on their left arm and a sword at their hip.
-Gullna's three companions gave him a moment to take in the sight while they surveyed the defenses. There were only two guards at each bridge, easily dealt with. The defenses on the inside would be much tighter and the bridges themselves probably had traps of their own.
-"Well, let's get to it," kick said. The others fallowed him as he walked down the hill toward the nearest bridged. The two Ramin guards looked at each other and pointed their weapons at the approaching brawl.
-"Halt!" one said. "State your business brawl." Vartock cracked a smile. Keck walked up to the Ramin who had spoken and towered over him. Gullna had never actually met Ramin before. It amazed him how much small they were, just over half of a brawls size.
-"Take us to Parotaken," kick said with authority in his voice. The Ramin's smug demeanor drained from his face and was replaced by fear and uncertainty. Brawl had that effect on Ramin.
-"Do you have an appointment?" the guard asked. Tarock and Vartock looked at each other with amusement. Keck narrowed his eyes at the guard.
-"We don't make appointments," kick said with irritation. "Just tell him we are here." The other Ramin walked over to some strange tube in a wall next to him and spoke into it.
-"Sir there are four brawl here to se Parotaken." Gullna looked at the others confused. The confusion changed to surprise when he heard a voice come out of the tube.
- "Send them in," a slightly distorted voice said. The Ramin who had called in looked at kick and nodded to his partner. The brawl walked passed the guards and onto the bridge. As they walked all the Ramin they passed stared at them with fear and got out of their way.
-"Why exactly are they so afraid of us?" Gullna wisped to Tarock. Vartock chuckled but Tarock gave him a glance to be quiet.
-"Well let's see," Tarock said. "We are bigger, stronger and a hell of a lot meaner than they are. They see us as violent, mindless beasts that are just looking for a reason to attack. In their eyes we are little more than monsters."
-"Their just jealous," Vartock said with a cocky smile. Tarock shot him an annoyed glance.
-"A few things to remember," Tarock said to Gullna. "Don't bother trying to remember Ramin names, they have some status thing about making them complicated and they get offended if you say them wrong. Try to let us do the talking and if we have to eat with them watch how they eat before you do. Ramin are picky about table manners."
-Gullna nodded and they passed through a large archway and entered the city. They were greeted by five Ramin soldiers who escorted them through the city. Now that they were next to them, Gullna could see how truly enormous the buildings were. The towers shot straight up into the sky like giant spires. All around them they saw strange machines whose purpose he couldn't even guess.
-Finally they reached what appeared to be the center of the city. There was a large palace covered in jewels and gold. They walked through the doorway and found a Ramin wearing a white uniform lavishly decorated with decorations. Gullna had never seen so many things needlessly adorned before. The Ramin steeped forward and greeted Keck with a fake smile.
-"Welcome to Solem."